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IHS Markit smartphone research is different. We deliver comprehensive smartphone data, down to specific models and component categories, providing you with the detailed insight and data you need on the rapidly evolving global smartphone industry.

On 15th May, a new player officially entered into the China market: Realme. The Sub-brand of OPPO launched in India’s online market last year to fight Xiaomi’s Redmi brand. Now, the brand will also target the online market.

HMD Global launched five new mobile phones at MWC 2018, all with striking industrial design. By choosing to only offer handsets with Google's pure Android One or Android Oreo (Go Edition), HMD threatens to disrupt established OEMs with legacy software. The new Nokia 8110 demonstrates featurephones are evolving now with LTE and will not die soon. HMD's flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco has a stunning steel-framed dual curved edge display in a super compact frame which will target Europe.

The Mate 10 Pro jumps ahead of the competition, including traditional LTE chipset performance leader Qualcomm, by becoming the first smartphone to be announced with a category 18 LTE modem and RF design, which has been made possible by Huawei’s ongoing investment in its HiSilicon chipsets. The Mate 10 range demonstrates Huawei’s scale and its ability to invest in significant strategic smartphone technologies that smaller OEMs cannot match.

On January 20, 2017 Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm at the Southern District Court of California. In the lawsuit, Apple accused Qualcomm of breach of contract, violation of unfair competition laws and requested judgement on royalty rate it must pay for Qualcomm’s standard essential patents. (SEPs) Since Apple’s initial legal lawsuit, both companies filed additional lawsuits in different jurisdictions and the dispute grew into a full scale patent licensing war.
This article provides summary and analysis of the licensing dispute between Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.

A software update to the Huawei Mate 9 in the US installs Huawei’s Alexa app on the handset. With the integration of Amazon Alexa, Huawei is taking its virtual assistant strategy beyond China where the company is relying on its own ecosystem.

On 23 March OPPO announced a new F-series smartphone, F3 Plus, which aims at the non-China markets. IHS Markit believes it is a right decision for OPPO to seek growth beyond China, and the company is in a better shape to expand abroad compared with Xiaomi.

HMD Global re-launched the Nokia brand into the smartphone market. HMD commits to a pure Google Android experience, Google Assistant AI as standard, and monthly security updates. HMD and Nokia's goal is for Nokia to regain its position as a major mobile handset maker. HMD must be careful not to allow the Nokia brand to become a nostalgia brand with the re-launch of classic Nokia featurephones like the Nokia 3310.

TCL launches the first BlackBerry smartphone, the flagship KEYone, since it secured a brand license from BlackBerry the company. The new BlackBerry portfolio has a chance of success, because few companies now offer BlackBerry-style design and features, and the productivity-focused smartphone segment is underserved. But TCL must be careful not to price itself out of its target segment.

The objective of the article is to examine patent rulings in the past few years that have made major impacts on the smartphone industry in four different regions: United States, Europe, India and China.
In particular, this article will examine the following two aspects of the patent industry that are relevant to the smartphone market:
I. Rulings made on Standard Essential Patent (SEP) royalty rates
II. Recent changes in patent laws for each region

Recently, there have been numerous reports on Apple Inc.’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus receiving an injunction in Beijing last month. The court injunction was given by China's municipal tribunal in response to a design patent infringement compliant filed by a smartphone startup named Shenzhen Baili. Until the news was announced, Shenzhen Baili - and its parent company Digione - were an unknown player in the China’s smartphone space and it seem to fit the profile of a non-practicing entity (NPE) - or colloquially referred to as patent troll. Shortly after the court injunction order, Apple appealed the court order requesting a review of the ruling. Since then, Apple’s appeal to review the ruling has been accepted and Apple will be able to sell its iPhone 6 and 6 plus models in China until the order is reviewed by the Beijing IP court.

Microsoft sold its featurephone business unit to HMD and Foxconn for $350m. HMD also acquired the licence to produce Nokia branded smartphones and tablets, finalising Nokia's return to the smartphone market after selling that business to Microsoft in 2014.

At MWC 2016, the major leading smartphone makers launched new flagship smartphones as well as a new range of VR 360 degree smart accessory cameras. Including, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge; Xiaomi Mi5; and notably LG's G5 with a modular expansion capability; and Alcatel's Idol 4S which is bundled with a VR headset .

The Mi5 is a class leading smartphone with innovative design elements and the very latest hardware technology, but Xiaomi needs to do more with its software ecosystem to significantly grow its business beyond its home market of China. Although, the Mi5's low prices will help shipment volumes everywhere Xiaomi launches the MI5.
Until Xiaomi tackles the fundamental international issues with its portfolio, its shipment growth will continue to be low. Xiaomi is trying to address this with two things: the number of patents it is now filing around the world and its partnership with Qualcomm on the Mi5.